Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways
NATIONAL WATERWAYS PROJECT
For development of Inland Water Transport  in the country, 111 waterways  spread over 24 States have been declared National Waterways  under the National Waterways Act, 2016. On the basis of outcome of techno-economic feasibility study and Detailed Project Report  of these NWs action plan has been formulated for 26 NWs which were found viable for cargo and passenger movement. At present, development initiatives have been taken up in the 20 NWs. The detail is at Annexure-I.
Major challenges for development of National Waterways include the varying and limited depths during lean season due to the excessive upstream withdrawal/utilization of water resulting in meandering and braiding of alluvial rivers, erosion of their banks causing excessive siltation, lack of cargo earmarked for IWT, non-mechanized navigation lock systems, insufficient unloading facility at terminals, horizontal and vertical clearance issues due to cross structures, first & last mile connectivity, lack of vessel financing options and apprehension of logistics and shipping market to shift in absence of policy support hinder the use of IWT by shippers.
Efforts made to overcome these challenges and to grow cargo movement through Inland Water Transport  are detailed at Annexure.-2.
There are 9 NWs exclusively in Karnataka & 3 inter-State NWs which have been declared under National Waterways Act, 2016. After feasibility/DPR studies of all these NWs, Kali river , Sharavati river  in Karnataka & Tungabhadra river  in Karnataka, A.P. & Telangana have been found feasible for tourism & ferry services. Govt. has provided an amount of INR 2.7 crore for development of jetty infrastructure in Kali river  through the State Govt.
Annexure.-1
LIST OF 26 NATIONAL WATERWAYS  PROJECTS FOR DEVELOPMENT
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Sl.
No. No
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NW
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Details of Waterways
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Length 
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STATES
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Status
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1
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NW 1
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Ganga-Bhagirathi-Hooghly River System 
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1620
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Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand & West Bengal
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Development taken up through Jal Marg Vikas Project
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2
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NW 2
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Brahmaputra River 
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891
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Assam
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Development taken up as per approved SFC for FY 2020-21 to 2024-25
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3
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NW
16
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Barak River 
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121
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Assam
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4
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NW 3
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West Coast Canal , Champakara and Udyogmandal Canals
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205
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Kerala
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Mostly Operational
Waterways and development and maintenance work taken up.
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5
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NW 4
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Krishna River 
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82
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Andhra Pradesh
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6
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NW 5
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Dhamra-Paradip via Mangalagadi to Pankopal
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233
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Odisha
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7
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NW 8
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Alappuzha- Changanassery Canal
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29
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Kerala
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8
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NW 9
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Alappuzha - Kottayam – Athirampuzha Canal
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40
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Kerala 
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9
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NW
27
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Cumberjua River 
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17
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Goa
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10
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NW
68
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Mandovi River 
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41
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Goa
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11
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NW
111
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Zuari River 
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50
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Goa
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12
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NW
86
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Rupnarayan River 
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72
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West Bengal
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13
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NW
97
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Sunderbans Waterway 
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172
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West Bengal
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14
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NW
40
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Ghagra River 
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345
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Bihar & U.P.
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15
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NW
52
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Kali River 
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53
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Karnataka
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16
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NW
44
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Ichamati River 
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63
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West Bengal
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17
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NW
57
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Kopili River 
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50
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Assam
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18
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NW
31
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Dhansiri River 
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110
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Assam
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19
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NW
10
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Amba River 
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45
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Maharashtra
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20
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NW
28
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Dabhol Creek Vasisti River 
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45
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Maharashtra
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21
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NW
25
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Chapora River 
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25
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Goa
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Mostly Operational
Waterways for development by 2030.
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22
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NW
37
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Gandak River 
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296
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Bihar & U.P.
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23
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NW
73
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Narmada River 
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226
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Maharashtra & Gujarat
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24
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NW
85
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Revadanda Creek - Kundalika River System 
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31
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Maharashtra
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25
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NW
94
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Sone River 
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141
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Bihar
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26
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NW
100
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Tapi River 
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436
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Maharashtra & Gujarat
Annexure-2
STEPS TAKEN FOR GROWTH OF CARGO TRANSPORTATION ON WATERWAYS
INITIATIVES FOR GROWTH OF TRAFFIC ON NATIONAL WATERWAYS
i. Fairway development works: Fairway development works to ensure LeastAvailable Depth  of 3.0 meter in Haldia-Barh, 2.5 meter in Barh-Ghazipur and2.2 meter in Ghazipur-Varanasi stretches on NW-1 have been taken up under the JalMarg Vikas Project  which has been undertaken by IWAI with technical and financial assistance from World Bank. Similarly, to improve the connectivity between NW-1 and NW-2/NW-16 via the Indo Bangladesh protocol route, thecritical and shallow stretches between Sirajganj and Daikhowa on protocol routeNo1 & 2 and Ashuganj and Zakiganj on protocol rote no 3 &4 in Bangladesh arebeing jointly developed by India and Bangladesh for round the year navigability. Similarly, fairway development works have been taken up on NW-97 in Sunderbans to allow smooth navigation of vessels on theIndo-Bangladesh Protocol Route.
ii. Development of New National Waterways: IWAI has identified 26 new NWs through techno-economic feasibility studies forundertaking technical interventions to make the waterways navigable fortransportation purpose.
iii. Ro-Ro/Ro-Pax Service Commenced in Various National Waterways: The Operation of Ro-Ro / Ro-Pax vessels inaugurated by Hon’ble Prime Minsterduring February 2021 for the following routes:
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Vessel Name
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Ro-Ro/Ro-Pax Services between
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Date of Inaugurationby Hon'ble PrimeMinister
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MV Rani Gaidinliu& MV SachinDeve Barman
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Neamati and Kamalabari 
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18.02.2021
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MV JFR Jacob
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Guwahati and North Guwahati
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18.02.2021
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MV Bob Khathing
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Dhubri and Fakirganj 
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18.02.2021
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MV AdiShankara& MV
C.V. Raman
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Wellingdon Island and Bolghaty
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14.02.2021
iv. Revision of Levy & Collection of Fees:Taking ahead the vision of the Government of India to promote Inland Waterways as a supplementary mode of transport, the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways has considered waiver of waterway user charges initially for a period of three years.
DIGITAL SOLUTIONS FOR EASE-OF-DOING BUSINESS
Following digital solution for ease of doing business has been introduced by IWAI:-
- CAR-D  Portal
- PANI 
ENHANCED REGIONAL TRADE USING IWT MODE
a. Addition of new Ports of Call and routes in India and Bangladesh under PIWT&T: With 7 new ports of call in addition to existing 6 on each side along with addition/ extension of 2 waterway routes in addition to existing 8 routes under PIWT&T between India and Bangladesh, the accessibility of IWT mode for trade between India and Bangladesh is expected to increase and result in growth of traffic on NWs.
b. Trade between Bhutan and Bangladesh: Stone exporters from Bhutan have identified Inland waterways as an alternate mode of transportation considering the benefits associated with waterways mode such as lower transportation cost, larger shipment size compared to road, avoiding congestion on land routes etc.
STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES  FOR FACILITATING THE STAKEHOLDERS TO USE INLAND WATER TRANSPORT AND ACCESS THE VARIOUS INFORMATION RELATED TO NATIONAL WATERWAYS
The list of Standard Operating Procedures  for various National Waterways is available at IWAI website.
STAKEHOLDER CONSULTATIONS
IWAI carried out stakeholder consultations at sixdifferent locations  in FY-20, 9nos. during FY-21 and 06 nos.conference-cum-webinars in FY22 for cargopromotion.
- PM GatiShakti Multimodal Waterway Connectivity Summit held in Varanasi from 11th -12th November 2022.
- Flagging off of world’s longest river cruise and waterways development projects inaugurated and foundation stone was laid online by Hon’ble Prime Minister in the presence of Hon’ble Minister PSW, Hon’ble Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh on 13th January 2023 at Varanasi.
This information was given by the Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Shri Sarbananda Sonowal in a written reply to the Lok Sabha.